Q: Hi, Greg, Iíve got three questions for you that I hope you can answer. I see your column every week and enjoy it much. First: Did John Deere ever build a car or truck? Second: What is the formula for building a 383-cubic-inch stroker Chevy small block (parts needed)? Third: When did the Chevy Chevette come out? Thank you very much, Dwayne E. Brooks, Marion, Ohio.

A: Dwayne, no problem at all. Here we go, and I apologize if I get too technical with the 383 question.

1: John Deere to my knowledge never built a car or truck. However, International Harvester (IH) did build pickup trucks and large heavy duty trucks under the IH brand, then IHC and present day Navistar International. Navistar continues to build medium- and heavy-duty trucks, school buses and engines under the International brand name.

As for popularity, the IH Trucks from four-door pickup to sport utility IH Scout (see photo) were most recognizable on the nationís highways. A funny ending note on this question is Lamborghini, today recognized as one of the fastest and most expensive sports cars in the world. Ferruccio Lamborghini was the leading tractor manufacturer in Italy, and it all started when Lamborghini bought a Ferrari back in 1962.

After driving the car for a month, he called Mr. Enzo Ferrari and made some recommendations concerning his Ferrari which he felt would make the car better. (Brakes, engine position, etc.). Mr. Ferrari told Lamborghini to keep his mind on building tractors and leave the sports cars to Ferrari.

Well, we all know what happened after that phone call, as by 1965 Lamborghini was on the road with a most impressive sports car. Today, the brand is owned by Volkswagen and continues to be a world famous supercar.

2: To build a 383 stroker Chevy small block, start with a good 4-bolt main 350-inch block, Chevy or aftermarket. Youíll need a quality crankshaft that increases the stroke from the stock 350 of 3.48 to 3.75 inches. I recommend buying an aftermarket crank from people like Crower, K1, Eagle, Scat or several other name brand grinders. I recommend a forged steel crank over a cast iron crank if you plan to use your car every weekend at the drag races.

If you use a 400-inch Chevy crank, (which you can) remember this stock crank is an external balance crank and you will need the correct torsional damper and weighted flywheel. If you use a 400 Chevy crank, you will need some machine work to the crank journals to fit. Thatís why I recommend the aftermarket crank companies because they come internally balanced, which is more desirable.

Next, you need a good set of pistons and 5.7-inch rods, available from a bevy of companies like Wiseco, Manley, K1, Crower, JE, Eagle, Keith Black and many more. Other parts include good rod and main bearings (Clevite or Sealed Power), gaskets (Cometic or FelPro) and piston rings (Total Seal, Hastings, Sealed Power) to finish off your combination. These are the major parts, and also donít forget good road bolts and fasteners of which ARP is the very best.

Once you have all the parts, you just canít throw it together and expect it to live. This is where a good machine shop enters the equation for balancing the entire rotating assembly (crank, rods, pistons) professionally to make sure everything is in proper circulating weight. At this point, most all machine shops can assemble the short block for a fair price. This means youíll also need a camshaft from Comp Cams, Lunati or Isky (my favorites), and donít go overboard on the lift, as a .480 to .500 lift cam with street style duration will work well on street and strip. Hope this helps as I have left out many other specifics, but this will get you going. Contact your machine shop before you buy the parts and heíll explain why 5.7-inch aftermarket rods are better than the 5.56 inch stock Chevy 400 rods.

3. The Chevy Chevette came to market in September 1975 as a 1976 model and lasted until 1987.

Thanks for your questions.

Greg Zyla writes weekly for More Content Now, BestRide.com and other Gatehouse Publications. He welcomes reader questions on collector cars, racing or auto nostalgia at 116 Main St., Towanda, PA 18848 or at greg@gregzyla.com.

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